Success is an idol—the great American idol. Which emphasizes the scandal that Jesus died as a failure. Jesus died as an apparent failure in the eyes of everyone. Yes, we know that Easter changed that perspective, but slow down. We can't rush from Christmas to Easter. We have to take Good Friday on its own terms. If we use Easter to obliterate Good Friday, rather than illuminate Good Friday, we end up a "theology of success," instead of the true theology that comes from the Crucified God.
